Inexorable Forces
by LoonyTuned
Summary: He doesn't know who she is to him. And when he looks at her, he knows they have a story. But he can't help but feel like something's missing. ItachiXSakura, with some PeinXSakura. (non-massacre)
1. Chapter 1

_**Inexorable Forces**_

_**Disclaimer- Don't own Naruto.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1- Who are you?**_

* * *

_Beep_.

_Beep_.

_Beep. _

"He...signs...wake..." Someone was in the room. He opened his eyes slightly, blinking to let his eyes get used to the light. He finally focused on the dark haired woman standing next to his bed.

"Uchiha-san?" she asked him gently. "You're in the hospital." He had already figured that out by the distinct smell that surrounded him.  
"What.." he croaked out and she rushed to get him a glass of water. He gulped the cool liquid down slowly, soothing his parched throat. "...happened?"

"You don't remember?" the woman he finally recognised as Shizune asked, and he noted the apprehension in her voice.

"I.." He couldn't remember. Why was he here? "The mission."

"What's the last thing you remember?" she asked him softly.

"The mission. I just accepted the mission from Hokage-sama. But I...I don't remember leaving for it." _'Shit. That one was crucial.' _

Shizune pursed her lips before nodding. "I'll be back with the Hokage-sama. Don't go back to sleep. Or at least try not to." He only nodded in response as she turned to leave the room.

"Shizune-san. My mother and Sasuke?"

"You'll see them soon, Uchiha-san. They've been waiting for you to wake up for a while." So he'd been out for a while.

After about five minutes, Shizune walked back in with the Hokage in tow. "Hokage-sama," he greeted as he tried to sit up. She snorted and pushed him back down gently.

"Uchiha. Good to see you're up. Are you in any pain?" she asked him and smiled when he shook his head.

"Ah, no. My head does feel a little sore."

"That's to be expected." _'It is?'_ he wondered.

"Now, Shizune tells me that the last thing you remember is accpting a mission, correct?" she continued when he nodded. "Which mission?"

"You told me there have been rumors of interaction between the new Otogakure and Amegakure. I was to travel to Oto, collect as much information as possible on this issue as well as their new Kage, then travel to Ame to get information on the issue and the Akatsuki. The time limit was indefinite."

Tsunade and Shizune stiffened visibly before the blonde cursed angrily.

"Is there a problem, Hokage-sama?"

Shizune looked at her mentor, who shook her head. "We need to discuss a few things. I'll send your mother and the brat in." With that they both walked out of the room. Itachi furrowed his brows as he thought about their reaction. A minute later, the handle turned and he looked up too see fimilar pink-haired girl. Only, she looked like a woman. Her hair was longer than he remembered, her...other physical features were different, and her eyes were the only thing that hadn't changed. _'What's going on?'_

"Itachi?" she whispered, looking like she couldn't believe he was there.

"Ah. Haruno-san?" he asked with confusion evident in his voice.

"Ha...Haruno-san?" she mumbled. "Why did you call me that?"

"Forgive me, but you look a lot like Haruno Sakura."

She looked like she was torn between jumping out the window and punching him. "Itachi, I am Haruno Sakura."

"Then why did you-"

"Because 'Haruno-san- is way too formal! What is wrong with you?" she snapped.

"I'm afraid we don't know each other well enough for me to call you anything else," he explained wearily. Not only was his brother's teammate looking, well, grown up, she was behaving oddly as well.

"No..." She looked horrified, and he felt the urge to wrap his arms around her. Now, it was his turn to look horrified. Or at least feel that way.

"Damn it." Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room.

He heard voices outside his room, and soon his mother walked in, followed by his brother. He was startled to notice that they both looked a little different than the last time he saw them, which couldn't have been that long ago. Actually, his mother looked a little different. Sasuke, on the other hand looked older, more mature. His hair was slightly longer, and he was startled to see a short ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Itachi?" Mikoto asked softly, as she brushed his bangs away from his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, mother," Itachi assured as he glanced at his brother. "Sasuke, you look...different." His mother sniffled and grabbed his hand.

"Aniki..." Sasuke cleared his throat and nodded. "I know. I...I'm glad to see you're okay." _'Almost okay.'_

Something was wrong. He knew these two better than anyone else, and he knew they were hiding something from him. "Haruno-san came in just now," he began, noticing how they both froze at once. "She behaved rather oddly."

"Did you say anything?" Sasuke asked in a strangled voice.

"Well, she addressed me rather informally so I merely reminded her that we don't know each other well enough to..." he broke of when Sasuke groaned.

"Right...of course you did." Just as Itachi was about to ask Sasuke to explain himself, the door opened and they turned to see Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura walk in. The pink haired girl..woman glanced at Sasuke, who grimaced and shook his head. Shizune looked at her with pity.

"Well, Uchiha," Tsunade looked at Mikoto who nodded and squeezed his hand. "I have some bad news for you."

"Which is? Hokage-sama?"

"The last thing you remember is that mission, yes?" He nodded and she sighed. "You see, that mission was completed a year ago. By you."

Itachi frowned and shook his head.

"That's not possible. I have never-"

"How old are you?"

"I..what?" He blinked. "21."

"23. You're 23 years old," Mikoto said softly. Itachi took a deep breath and shook his head again.

"Here are a few of the mission reports," Tsunade offered them to him and he took them quietly. He glanced at Sakura, who hadn't taken her eyes off the floor.

"Um, Sakura, we should..." Shizune started but Sakura noodded and they both walked out. Itachi noted the way Sasuke's eyes followed his teammate as she was walking towards the door.

"How long was I out? he asked his mother.

"A week." That wasn't too long. He'd been out for more than a week before.

"Go through them. See if there's any change," Tsunade stated and turned to go and find her student. He nodded and opened one of the scrolls. The report was written three years ago.

* * *

"Sakura..." Tsunade said, putting a hand on her youngest apprentice's shoulder. "We'll fix this."

"I know, Shishou. But it's just...hard. It's like the last twelve months didn't happen."

The blonde nodded and said, "For him, in his current condition, they actually didn't happen."

Sakura sighed, looking down at the picture in her hands. The man with long raven hair, who was currently in the room next to them, was smiling slightly in the picture as he looked at the pink haired woman stuffing her face with dango.

"I swear, I'll kill the stupid bastard that did this to him."

* * *

Three years.

Three years worth of memories were missing from his head. It was hard to believe it, but the facts were there.

"Do you have any idea how this happened?" he asked his brother who shook his head. Their mother had gone to talk to Tsunade.

"We have no idea. But since there are no head injuries, Tsunade thinks it might have been a jutsu."

"I see. And Sasuke," Itachi wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to his next question. "What is the relation between Haruno-san and I?"

Sasuke looked grim as he said, "I don't think I'm the best person to tell you." Itachi frowned but let it go for the moment. His mother walked in at that moment and smiled at them.

"Well, Itachi. Hokage-sama said that nothing else is wrong with you, and physically you're perfectly fine, so we can take you home. But you'll have to come back for a check-up in a few days." He nodded and took the clothes his mother brought for him, and went to take a much needed shower.

Twently minutes later, the three of them walked out of the hospital. They had checked in with Tsunade on the way, and she had told him to report to her at once of he remembered anything. He sensed someone staring at him and looked at the source to see Sakura standing with Naruto and a blonde woman. Naruto and the girl he recognised as Yamanaka Ino looked at Sakura at once, but her expression was blank. Naruto looked back at Itachi waved, and he nodded. He suddenly grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her over to them.

"Hi Mikoto-san! Teme. Itachi-san, how are you feeling?" he asked with a grin. Itachi gave a small smile before replying.

"I'm feeling well, Naruto-san." The blond looked so much like his father now that it was almost startling. Almost involuntarily, he glanced at Sakura again, only to see her staring at the ground again. Sasuke looked at Naruto who winced and nudged Sakura.

"Haruno-san, Sasuke was telling me that you've reached Hokage-sama's level in strength," Itachi started, even though he could not figure out why. He wasn't one to initiate conversations. "We must spar sometime."

But his words had the desired effect as she finally looked up to meet his eyes. "Yeah, um, sure Ita-I mean, Uchiha-san."

He nodded and she smiled slightly, and he found that he could not, even though he tried to, look away. _'Who are you to me, Haruno Sakura?'_ Itachi stared intently at her, at the sadness he saw hidden behind her smile. _'What is our story?'_

"Well, I...I have to get back to work. I'll see you sometime," she said quickly and smiled at his mother before running away. The Yamanaka girl rolled her eyes and followed her friend with a "Get well soom, Uchiha-san!" to him.

"He spoke to her willingly!" Came a loud whisper from his right and he turned to see his brother and Naruto huddled together.

"Why don't you announce it a little louder, you loser?" He brother muttered angrily. Itachi frowned at them as he once again tried to figure just what kind of a relationship he had with his brother's female teammate. _'More than acquaintances. Perhaps...friends?'_

* * *

_**Somewhere in Amegakure...**_

"But I took care of it!" A green haired man yelled deperately. "He doesn't remember any of it!"

A blue haired man snorted and rolled his eyes. "How dumb are you? You were supposed to take care of it two years back! Not after he reported everything to his Kage."

"But I...I.." The man gulped in fear as he started backing away. '_I shouldn't have gotten involved with them in the first place!'_ "If you kill me, all his memories will return," he warned.

"Oh? It won't really make a difference, will it?" Kisame smirked as he lifted Samehada. "Any last words?"  
"You scum will get what you deserve," he spat and closed his eyes, defeat written all over his face. The giant man only laughed as he brought the sword down. _'This one's for you, Uchiha.'_

* * *

Itachi gasped as he fell down on his knees, his head feeling like it was about to explode.

"Itachi? ITACHI!" Sasuke yelled as rushed to his brother's side. "What's happening? Where does it hurt?" He felt his mother's hand on his forehead, but unlike other times, it didn't help at all.

"Head..." Itachi mumbled as he gave in to the darkness, his mind filled with images of a pink-haired girl and a shark-like grin.


	2. Haruno?

**Inexorable Forces**

* * *

_**Chapter 2- Haruno?**_

* * *

**_(12 months back)_**

"Absolutely not!"

"Not a good idea."

"Hn."

The lone female of Team 7 rolled her eyes at her teammates, before giving her mentor a look that only made the elder woman sigh exasperatedly.

"Look, you idiots. _My apprentice _does not need _your _permission to accept a mission. Why the hell are you four even here?" Tsunade snapped at them, since she definitely did not remember asking the four males to come to her office.

"Well, we wanted to know why you called Sakura to your office!" Naruto said easily, as if that was reason enough to show up-even though she'd specifically asked _only _for her apprentice-and proceed to interrupt her every two minutes.

The elder blonde's eyebrows twitched dangerously as she contemplated the consequences of throwing Naruto out the window.

"Shut up, idiot," Sasuke muttered before he looked back at the Hokage. "Hokage-sama. What's the mission exactly?"

"That's none of your business, you brat!" Tsunade growled. "Haven't you ever heard of the term 'confidentiality'?"

"But we're her family! We have to know!" Naruto sputtered as Sai pulled him back to try his luck.

"We're just worried about the Hag-I mean, your lovely apprentice, Hokage-sama," Sai said with a pleasantly fake smile. Kakashi just stared at her over their heads.

Sakura, who had been quiet all this while, stepped forward only for her teammates to look at her expectantly. "Enough, you guys! I'm not twelve anymore, damn it. It's a B-ranked mission, and you guys are flipping out like I won't ever come back!"

Naruto let out a choked sound before grabbing her shoulders gently. "Don't say things like that!" The rosette haired woman sighed and pinched his cheek fondly.

"Idiot. You guys need to go now. I'll see you later," and despite their protests, Sakura kicked her teammates out with a cheerful smile on her face, ignoring Kakashi's attempts at guilt-tripping her.

"You've lost your charm, old man," Sasuke smirked at his ex-sensei, who glared at him in return.

"Of course I haven't lost my charm! It's just that you brats and Sakura have grown up way too fast-thus developing an immunity against my _charm_."

* * *

"So do you understand?" Tsunade asked her apprentice after explaining the mission to her.

"Yeah. Travel to the clearing, meet up with our ANBU operative, heal the operative, come back to Konoha with the operative," Sakura said, mentally ticking off the points. Tsunade rolled her eyes and adopted a serious expression.

"You make it sound like it's nothing. Look, there's a chance you'll run into trouble. The operative is returning from a mission of very _delicate_ nature. Be careful. You leave in four hours."

"Yes, yes. I know, I will. Got it, Shishou."

* * *

It would take him approximately five hours to reach the location-if his calculations were correct, which they usually were.

_'It's been two years. I wonder if anything's changed..." _The masked man snorted quietly. _'Maybe not too much. A few things here and there but nothing should be too different." _The thought of seeing that his mother and brother were okay with his own eyes, made him increase his pace slightly. _'__He's seventeen now. He must have grown a lot. I wonder if he's still close to his teammates.'_ They were inseparable at the time he left. He had a feeling that their bonds had only grown stronger in the past two years.

Hopefully the Hokage had sent a competent medic.

* * *

"Is it an assassination mission?" Surprisingly enough, Sasuke was the first one to break the silence. The team was at Ichiraku Ramen-no surprise there-having lunch, as Sakura had to leave in about two hours. No one had said anything about her solo mission till now, but all four males had an innate need to know every detail about it. It wasn't possible, but they needed _something_ to assure them.

"No," Sakura replied, looking amused. Naruto broke away from his bowl of ramen long enough to stare suspiciously at her. Ayame stifled a giggle as she washed the dishes, as Sakura stuck her tongue out at them.

"So now you're a lying hag," Sai mused as Sakura turned to glare at him.

"I'm not lying!"

"She's not lying," Kakashi said cheerfully. "I'd like to think that my only female student would be at least a little nervous about a mission like that."

The other three nodded thoughtfully before they resumed eating, though they relaxed visibly. Sakura threw a grateful look to Kakashi before turning to stare at her ramen.

_'I'd be nervous, but it's not like I wouldn't be able to handle it. If it had been an assassination mission, how would they have reacted? They'd do everything in their power to prevent it."_

* * *

_'It's not too far from here, if I remember correctly. Just an hour's travel,' _he thought as he allowed a small smile to grace his features. A sharp tingle to his senses drew his attention as he realised he was being followed.

_'All of them are around Jounin level, at the most. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem but I spent quite a bit of chakra back at the hideout.' _He counted about five ninjas- two on the left, two on the right and one behind him. He was a powerful ninja, but experience had taught him not to underestimate others.

He felt the ninja coming closer, and closed his eyes, only to reopen them within seconds, with three tomoes in each eye, standing out against the blood red color of his eyes.

* * *

_'Almost there...wait-oh shit. Please don't tell me they got to him before I even got a chance to heal him!'_

Sakura growled angrily and sped up, arriving at the clearing in record time. She saw two lifeless body's lying on the right, one figure cloaked in black that was currently engaged in a battle with one ninja, and another ninja staring at them in fear.

She watched in slight awe as the cloaked figure evaded his opponent's attacks with ease and grace that seemed almost familiar, before he started attacking the other man.

The other guy with the terrfied look on his face took a deep breath and reached into his pouch while stealthily (or so he thought) moving towards the two ninja. The cloaked person dealt a finishing blow to the ninja he was fighting before he turned to the guy heading towards him, only to see him drop dead. He looked up only to see a pair of determined, emerald eyes.

_'Haruno?'_


	3. It's Been A While

_**Hey! So, do you guys actually like this story? **_

_**Here's the next chapter!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 3- It's Been A While**_

* * *

It was his brother's teammate. What on earth was she doing _here_?

"Haruno-san?" He said with a touch of uncertainty. Sakura gaped at him as she recognized the voice.

"U-Uchiha-san?" She blurted out and immediately started scanning him for injuries. "I assume you're the operative I have to heal and escort back to Konoha?"

"Ah," he affirmed. _'Well, she is Hokage-sama's apprentice. It's not so surprising..but how did she know it's me?' _

_'Uchiha Itachi? Really? Sasuke would be glad to know his brother's okay. _

"Okay. Well, we should get you healed up as soon as possible and get you back to Konoha. Your mom and Sasuke will be really happy," she said smiling genuinely at him. He stared at her for two seconds before catching himself. _'It's been a while since I was around someone this...expressive.' _ Her smile grew as he nodded in response, and stepped forward to run a quick check to assess his state. A quick glance at their surroundings told her that he'd took on five ninja-all above chunin level-and came out with one scratch.

"Huh," she muttered in a low voice.

"Something wrong?" She glanced at him and shook her head.

"Ah, nothing," she said and healed his scratch. "But I suppose my mission was a little pointless, huh?"

"You saved us time and energy by killing the last ninja. And a mission is a mission-less action is probably good for us. Also, you never know. With the way I travel, the injury I had could have gotten infected."

Sakura highly doubted that but kept quiet, choosing to give him a grateful smile. The Uchiha himself did not know why he reassured her, but he guessed it had something to do with the disappointment he'd seen in her eyes.

_'He always was considerate. And way too polite!'_ She thought while grinning slightly.

"We should leave." She nodded and they took off into the trees at once.

* * *

One glance at her companion told her he wasn't winded in the least, but with a second one she noted how strained his shoulders seemed. A sudden impulse took control of her mouth as she drew closer to him.

"There's this really great dango stand that's just five minutes away. Perhaps we can stop there for a bit?" Sh suggested. She fought against the urge to roll her eyes when he turned his head slowly, seeming rather confused.

"The enemy might be right behind us. It is not the right time for dango."

This time she did roll her eyes. "We're like an hour away from Konoha. There are at least two ANBU patrol teams around this area. We can take a short break." He could not find any fault in that and nodded reluctantly. He did like dango.

"Great! I'm in the mood to have Chadango. What about you?" He stared at her for a few seconds before answering.

"I prefer Mitarashi dango," he answered curtly as they reached the small stand. It was attached to what looked like a ramen stand, with a few benches at the front. Fortunately, there weren't too many customers around.

"I'll go place our order," Sakura told him cheerfully and he only nodded before doing a quick search of the area and choosing a bench. He sat down and placed a small-and undetectable- genjutsu on his face and hair and pulled his hood down.

"So that's done. He'll let us know when it's ready," Sakura told him as she took the seat across from him. She raised one brow as he took his mask off and laughed.

"Well, you look different," She commented, seemingly amused. He smirked and gave a slight shrug.

"It has been a while since we saw each other," he remarked.

"I know. Mikoto-san's going to cry when she sees you," she told him gleefully and smirked when he winced. She knew how uncomfortable he and his brother got when their mother cried, even if it was out of happiness.

"So, how is my brother doing?" His mother wrote to him every month and told him what she knew but being his teammate, Sakura would know more about his daily escapades with Naruto.

"He's doing great. He really misses you, you know?" She smiled when he snorted. "He'd die before admitting it, but it's true. Oh, he's been working on expanding his lightening techniques. That's all I'm going to say, since he's definitely going to want to spar with you. Good luck."

He smirked but didn't respond to that. "What about the rest of your team?"

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei hasn't changed at all. Naruto's..well he's grown taller, and he's matured a lot. Both of them have," she told him, referring to Naruto and Sasuke. "Their sneaking around the women's bathhouses phase is over." They both winced at that.

"And...you?" He asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Me? Oh, I was always inside the bathhouses, not outside trying to peek in," she answered easily, her eyes twinkling.

"You know that's not what I meant," he asked with a small smile.

"I know, I know. I have been...good, I guess? Training's going pretty well. I mean, I'm a jonin now, and I help out at the hospital as often as I can."

"But you're a talented med-nin. I'm sure if you wanted a top position at the hospital, it would be yours."

"Yeah. And, I do love working there. But for now, the field's where I want to be. There's no shortage of staff at the hospital, but there aren't enough med-nin that want to work in the field. We're trying to change that, but it's all slow. Tsunade-sama's actually planning on introducing a basic medical program for all ninja. You should definitely sign up for it!" Sakura told eagerly.

"I'll be sure to do that," He promised. Satisfied with that, she looked at the stand and made eye-contact with the owner, who waved her over. She came back with their orders.

He took a bite of his dango and his eyes lit up appreciatively as he chewed. Sakura grinned at that and started eating. "Amazing, right?"

"Hn." She shrugged, correctly interpreting the answer as a yes and continued to eat.

* * *

"Shall we?" Itachi asked her after paying for their food.

"Well, what do we have here?" A voice came from behind them, and he felt rather than saw, Sakura tense beside him. He turned to see a young man with short brown hair and light, lavender eyes. He was also wearing the standard Konoha uniform.

_'A Hyuga?'_

"Kō," Sakura said tersely.

"Sakura," The Hyuga man greeted her mockingly. Then he looked at Itachi and raised a brow. "And who's this?"

"Kaname," Itachi told him smoothly. Kō nodded, then focused on Sakura, dismissing Itachi at once. Itachi felt his eyebrow twitch at the insolence of the Hyuga brat. _'If only he knew...well, thankfully he hasn't got his bloodline activated. He should be able to at least sense my genjutsu. Fool.' _

"Out on a mission, are we? I'm surprised the Hokage sent you out of the village without your two bloodhounds," he sneered.

"Oh, is that why you look so relieved?" She asked venomously. Itachi coughed slightly-her temper was still as fiery as ever. He paused as the Hyuga took a step towards his pink-haired friend-yes, _friend_\- and growled.

"You little-who's going to protect you now that those two aren't around?" He asked dangerously.

"What makes you think I need anyone to protect me?" Sakura asked in the same tone. Itachi wondered briefly if he was going to have to stop a brawl from breaking out. Then he ceased that line of thinking as Sakura was too graceful for that. Maybe.

"Ah, Hyuga-san. I'm afraid we must leave. Deadline and all. You can talk to Sakura some other time," Itachi intervened. Kō looked at him threateningly.

"No one's going to leave unless I allow it," he snapped. Itachi stiffened and shrugged inwardly. Then he allowed some of his killing intent and chakra to leak out, freezing the Hyuga in place.

"I'm quite certain we don't need your permission to leave, Hyuga-san," Itachi told him coldly. He turned to Sakura who nodded and gave Kō a scathing look before walking off.

Kō clenched his fists tightly as he watched them walk away from him. He mentally added a new name to his hitlist. _'No one turns their back on me, much less walk away just like that. They think I'm beneath them-we'll see who's beneath who once I'm done with them.' _

* * *

_**Please leave a review! Thank you for reading! **_


	4. Our People

_**I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I'll try to be regular from now on, and I'm trying to clean up The Unexpected Things. I think I know where I'm going with these stories now.**_

* * *

_****Inexorable Forces****_

_**Chapter Four: Our people **_

"Well, he sure seems to like you a lot," Itachi told her with just a hint of sarcasm as they went to pay for the food. She snorted as she remembered how hard it used to be for her and Naruto to understand the elder Uchiha's little jokes, but she came to appreciate them eventually.

As a typical twelve year old female, it used to be a struggle for Sakura to look past the smoldering eyes and unbelievably long lashes of her teammate's brother, which was something that ticked her team off but there wasn't much they could do about it. Even while training, if Itachi stopped by to give his brother a message or to escort him home-despite Sasuke's scowl that indicated his displeasure about being babied-Sakura was quick to complete whatever it was she was doing to practice tree or water walking nearby, if only to hear his voice. At that point, Sasuke and Naruto were still at the point where their voices weren't that different from Sakura's: squeaky and not exactly music to her ears. She conveniently forgot about Kakashi as, according to Ino, he wasn't not eye-candy material.

"We were in the same class at the Academy. He used to stomp on my flower crowns and I, well, cried. He's a bully who never got over the fact crybaby Sakura managed to become the Hokage's apprentice."

"Crybaby?" He tried to suppress the note of amusement but she caught it anyway, giving him a dirty look in response.

"It was my nickname. I was a sensitive kid, okay?" She defended as they took off towards the trees.

"Of course."

* * *

Patience was a skill Sasuke had to learn through years of putting up with his teammates. He liked to think that he could withstand a lot of things now, but it helped that Naruto had calmed down quite a bit ever since he returned from Mount Myoboku. He glanced at the blond, who in turn was staring at the large building in front of them.

"How long do you think it's going to take this time?"

"Hn." Naruto took that to mean 'I don't know' and nodded. He had his own quirks, so he understood that it was the same for others and that was why they both were waiting for Sai outside the Temple. About five months back, the artist started arriving late for training every Monday-unless he was on a mission- so of course they were curious to find out what kept him from coming on time. There were several theories: a girl, a part-time job, a habit taken up just to arouse their curiosity. What they did not expect was to follow him to a Temple of all places, and they were baffled for a few days before Sakura caved and asked him why, since it was uncommon for Shinobi to believe in religion, and it seemed even less likely for the ex-Root member to be a man of faith.

"The existence of God is subjective, but the faith of these people who visit the Temple with devotion in their hearts, hope in their eyes and uncertainty in their minds is fascinating. For some, the idea of an all-knowing deity watching over them gives them comfort because no one else does. Some just need something to believe in, and others need the fear of God to suppress their desires." No one questioned him after that.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" A sharp glance from her companion made her look away but she continued tersely. "I don't understand what's going on in that head of yours but please, think this through..."

"We both know who the real commander of this ship is. You will take my place while I'm gone." The man ran a hand through his auburn hair and turned back to continue packing.

"He may have created the organisation but you're our leader. You're the one our members listen to. Please, Pein," she tried to plead but he wouldn't have any of it.

"Konan, the 'creator' of this organisation has disappeared, and he took the chakra of the One-tailed and Two-tailed beasts with him. The members have their orders; they are to continue with their main missions and deal with our clients. You are to oversee their progress. Contrary to popular belief, this job isn't that hard," he smirked when she bowed her head in defeat and unbuttoned his cloak, only to hand it to her.

"You won't be taking it with you?"

"I won't need it where I'm going." She raised a brow at that and tucked the cloak under her arm.

"And where exactly are you going?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"If I tell you, you might follow or send one of our members to check up on me. Don't worry Konan, I'm not taking a vacation. I have a mission of my own." They shared a long look before Konan sighed and nodded.

"Be careful."

"Always. Have fun managing the kids," he joked as he slung his bag around his shoulders and walked out of the room.

The people of Amegakure had never seen him in person, so walking through the crowds wasn't too hard. _'I bet they'll be happy to see more of their Angel,'_ he mused as he remembered the reverent look of the citizens when she brought them a message from him. He stopped at the gates and turned to look the city, before he felt a familair chakra nearby and went up to it.

"Is everything in place?" he inquired and the figure before him nodded before melting into the ground. "Good. Keep an eye on the city, Zetsu." _'Since I won't be around to make it rain.' _


End file.
